20131117

Grocery stores could start stocking their shelves with liquor next
year or liquor store agents could start earning more more if a set of
proposals pushed by Oregon’s Liquor Control Commission gains traction in
the February legislative session.

The four-member group
voted unanimously Friday in favor of asking lawmakers to either invest
in or reform Oregon’s liquor system.

“We didn’t formalize
yet what we are going to ask,” OLCC Chairman Rob Patridge said. “We
think it’s important that the legislature makes at least one of these
items a priority.”

Liquor stores in Oregon are privately
owned, but the alcohol on their shelves is owned by the state with
retailers getting a percentage of each sale. Most of the state's 248
OLCC stores can only sell distilled spirits, but a decision by the
commission in September allowed store owners to apply for licenses to
sell wine and beer.

That upset grocery and convenience
store owners, and the Northwest Grocery Association floated a ballot
measure for 2014 to privatize Oregon liquor sales. The group
unsuccessfully pushed for similar privatization legislation during the
2013 session.